The search for an 81-year-old woman who vanished on New Year’s Day has entered its second month as fears for her welfare continue amid heavy snowfall.

Gloria Stringer was last seen on the evening of Monday, January 1, near her Hollingbourne home in Hospital Road but has not been seen since.

The pensioner, who is known as an avid walker, had previously been found in the garden of a home in Staplehurst.

Despite an exhaustive search of the surrounding areas, police were left with further clues and called off the search on January 24.

Mrs Stringer had been seen in the grounds of the Tudor Park Hotel before she vanished and is believed to have seen down a dirt track nearby.

A Facebook page has been set up by Mrs Stringer’s family in an attempt to find her and one post has urged members of the public to keep looking for her.

An earlier Facebook post read: “Please keep checking your sheds, gardens land etc, walkers and cyclists when you're out on your daily jaunts spare a minute to look around the areas you're in, please report anything that looks out of place, it might just be the breakthrough we need.

“Sadly the police have now stopped their search and we thank them and Kent Search and Rescue for all their efforts, we are truly grateful.

“So Gloria we continue to look for you and need to know what has happened to you.”

One theory held by Kent’s Search and Rescue team is that Mrs Stringer was caught in the harsh conditions of storm Eleanor and sought shelter while out walking.